


Christmas After Watford

by ageofasgard



Category: Carry On - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Cake, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Post-Canon, SnowBaz, snowbaz fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-23
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-11 12:09:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 7,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8979127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ageofasgard/pseuds/ageofasgard
Summary: Simon and Baz are still together, one year on. They're preparing to spend Christmas together along with Penny and one or two other spontaneous guests who are rather suddenly thrown into the mix. Warning: this collection of one shots is full of tinsel, cake mix and festive antics.





	1. Prompt 1 - Tree

_|Prompt - Baz gets butthurt about not going tree shopping with Snow and Penny so Snow lets him help decorate the rest of the apartment with them.|_

**Simon**  
I pull my scarf up a little higher to cover more of my face and bury my numb hands deeper into the pockets of my coat. How Baz manages to put up with being this cold all the time is beyond me. Although I don’t suppose it would feel that much different to him.

My teeth chatter slightly as I smile down at Penny and we walk amongst the rows of trees. It feels like one of the most Normal things I’ve done in recent months. Picking out a tree for our apartment. Personally, I think they all look rather similar but I don’t want to be the one to curb Penny’s enthusiasm. Besides, we’ll be decorating later and eventually we’ll need a tree to decorate. Maybe once we’ve done some baking and I’ve eaten some Christmas cookies – or Christmas scones, is that a thing? – I’ll feel a little more festive. Baz has also left a lingering promise of an ugly Christmas jumper so I guess I have that to look forward to as well.

“What about this one, Simon?” Penny grabs my arm and steers me towards a very traditional looking tree. “It’s beautiful.”

I turn to look at the tree. It’s very green, very full, and I could easily picture it being covered in colour co-ordinated tinsel and overly sparkly baubles in the corner of our modest living space.

“It looks like a Christmas tree.” I agree, to which Penny simply rolls her eyes and carries on steering me around until I spot one that catches my eye. 

Penny checks it over and it earns her seal of approval. “I think we just found our tree.”

I nod and another shiver rolls over my body. My dragon-like extremities twitch slightly too, still spelled invisible so as not to alarm the Normals. “We did.”

 

 **Baz**  
I could have cut my violin session short if I’d have known what Snow was doing. I wasn’t jealous, no; _butthurt_ seemed like a more appropriate description. I would have quite liked to go with them, as a matter of fact, but instead, here I am lying in wait for them in their own apartment, sitting in an office chair facing away from the door as if I’ll swing around to face them like a _Bond_ villain when they arrive.

The door opens, and I turn in the chair to face the two of them. Penny stops mid-laugh and Snow freezes sheepishly as I look right up at them. His face is flushed from the cold and his mop of bronze hair is tousled atop his head. “Baz.”

“Snow.” I tilt my head slightly.

“We were just…” Even his bloody smile was sheepish somehow. 

“Picking a Christmas tree. Without me.” Was I pouting? Maybe. 

“Baz, it’s just a tree. Don’t look at me like a lonely puppy.” Ah. So I _was_ pouting, then. “Have you been in here all morning?” Simon arches an eyebrow slightly as he walks in and hangs up his coat and scarf, and Penny follows suit, crashing into her favourite plush chair and curling up a little as she watched me.

“I’ve been haunting your apartment again, yes.” 

“You twat. You should have called.” Simon drops down onto the couch and I get off the office chair – the novelty had worn off by now – and join him. He turns, back against the arm as he swung his legs over my lap. I hadn’t thought of that.

“But I was perfectly comfortable waiting in that chair.” I run my hands gently over his lower legs before turning to look at Penny. “Don’t tell me you were planning on decorating the rest of the place without me?”

“Of course not.” But her sideways glance to Simon says otherwise.

 

 **Simon**  
Merlin’s beard, now I’m in a situation. Baz looks from Penny to me expectantly, his pale lips pursed slightly as he waits for an answer. “Go on, Snow.”

“We had it all planned out and I know you get a little… Overly enthusiastic when it comes to Christmas decorating.” I gulp, reaching down and occupying Baz’s hands with my own instead. 

It was true. He’d been decorating his own apartment and his door and decided to decorate the neighbour’s doors too, so I’d heard. Penny and I so desperately wanted to stay relatively inconspicuous and fit in here, and having the neighbours wake up to tinsel and wreaths all over their door would be more than a little unnerving.

“Should I just leave you to it, then?” Baz nudged my legs off of his lap and stood up.

I reach out and grab his arm. “Fine. Stay. We have that best-looking couple image to maintain, remember? What will everyone think if they see you moping out of here on your own?”

One corner of his lips quirks up in mild amusement. “You do know how to flatter me, Snow.” I roll my eyes, and go to fetch the decorations.

 

 **Baz**  
A few hours later, the apartment looks very merry indeed. Every frame, doorway and mirror is framed in glistening tinsel. There’s a penguin soft toy wearing a comical Father Christmas hat on the desk in the corner. Assorted cards line the surfaces around the room. And, of course, there’s a wreath on the front door, thanks to my growing decorating prowess.

I look up to see a smiling Snow with a long piece of glittering red tinsel hanging around his neck like a Christmas lei. I also catch a glimpse of his tail darting around behind him and I sigh.

“Snow. Your dragon is showing again.”

He breaks away from Penny and comes over to me so I can cast _**“There’s nothing to see here!”**_ on him again. “Why do you always have to cast that one, Baz?” Simon adjusts his glittery accessory and tilts his head a little.

“Because it works.” I grin, brushing small strands of the tinsel off of his shirt and letting my hands settle on his shoulders. “Merry Christmas, Snow.” My hands grab the tinsel around his neck and I pull him in.


	2. Prompt 2 - Card

_|Prompt - Simon writes a Christmas card to Ebb and displays it on the fireplace with the others.|_

_Ebb,_

_There’s so much to say but I don’t know how I’ll say it._

_Merry Christmas, to begin with. From me, and Baz, and Penny. Penny and I are still living together. Baz and I are still together. Watford still exists, the magickal world goes on, but nothing is the same without you. Or The Mage. But I think things have really changed for good. And I’m learning to live properly with my wings._

_I’m happy now. Happier, anyway. Baz makes me happy. He’s a soppy twat sometimes but he makes me smile. Penny is one of the best influences I could have. Especially when it comes to Christmas decorations. Her festive instincts are on point._

_I miss you. And wishing you a Merry Christmas might be fruitless, but I’ll do it anyway._

_I’ll see you soon._

_Simon_

 

 **Simon**  
I stare at the card and the words I’d strung together. My slight awkwardness comes across in what I’ve written and I can’t help it. I want to be able to talk to her but I know it won’t happen again.

No matter how hard I try to suppress some of my worst memories of Watford, some of them still slip past my psychological defence and I can’t help but think of Ebb. Good memories of Ebb, which somehow make me feel even worse.

Eventually, I go back to staring at the card again. The words swim around in front of my eyes before I realise why; then I notice the tears beginning to well up in my eyes. It’s because it’s _that_ time of year. Baz has already noticed it. I’ve been on edge, jumpy, nervous about things that wouldn’t normally bother me. My doctor says that it’s natural and not anything more to be worried about. But Baz won’t stop worrying, and I can’t stop thinking.

_Get a bloody grip, Snow!_

I want to snap my fingers, make the card disappear, set it on fire, I don’t know. But I can’t and I know I can’t. So instead I stand up, stepping over slowly to the small fireplace and setting it down on the shelf above it. I can’t muster up the will to drop it into the glowing flames just below where it now sat.

Maybe I’d bring myself to go and visit Ebb’s grave after all.


	3. Prompt 3 - Baking

_|Prompt - Trying to bake for Christmas. Cookies, cake, everything. Fluff and flour and feeding eachother.|_

 

 **Baz**  
“Simon, that mixture should be going in the oven, not in your mouth.” I shake my head as I watch Simon dip his finger sneakily into the edge of the bowl when he thinks I’m not looking. He looks up at me and licks his lips with a half smile. 

“We’ll be eating it anyway. What does it matter that I’m doing it a little prematurely?” He shrugs.

“About 40 minutes prematurely, Snow.” I move to stand behind him and reach around to gently restrain his hands. “Come on. We have cookies to shape and bake.”

He leans back and rests his head against me. My nose wrinkles up as his golden hair tickles my face and I kiss his temple. “Shape and bake like what? Christmas trees? Little cookie men with spiky wings and cartoon bloody devil’s tails?”

“Sounds perfect.”

 

 **Simon**  
I roll out the dough and use the cookie cutter to make half a dozen tiny people. I use the leftover dough to give the first one small wings, the second one a small pointy tail. After I’ve customised the final four I put them into the oven. Now it’s just a waiting game. 

Baz returns to the kitchen to find me sitting cross-legged in front of the oven, in some kind of daydream. “Snow?” He arches an eyebrow and leans against the doorway, his messy black hair reasonably tamed at this point. “Your mess isn’t going to clean itself.”

I hadn’t even thought of the mess I’d made. I place my hands on the counter-top, pulling myself upright as I look around at the mild trail of destruction I’d left. Cake mix splattered across the edge of the bowl and over several other implements. Red icing smeared over cupboard handles and my hands. And it looked like somebody had sneezed over a bag of flour because most of the room was covered in a thin layer of the stuff.

“Can’t you spell it all away…?” I yawn and stretch my arms upward, grunting softly in annoyance as my shirt rides up uncomfortably. Baz watches me, a steady smirk staying on his lips.

“That would be too easy.” He walked through the kitchen, pausing beside me to smooth down my shirt before going to the left-over chunk of dough and popping it into his mouth. I roll my eyes and start to clear up but not before I gather up a small handful of flour and toss it in Baz’s direction. “You… Imbecile.” Baz wipes the powder off of his face but it was still flecked across his neck and through one side of his hair. He seems to think for a moment before rubbing his hands in the flour and smearing it across my cheeks. 

I smile, pushing back my hair and most likely spreading the flour through my curls, too. Oh well. “There’s more on my face now than there is on the bloody counter, Baz.”

“Less for you to wipe up, then.” Baz rolls his eyes and throws a cleaning cloth at me this time. “I’m the oldest, clearly the most mature and therefore the one who has to ensure that you finish the job.”

“Bugger off. You’re my _boyfriend_ , not my da-“ I stop mid-word and look down awkwardly. “My teacher. You’re not my teacher.” 

Baz shakes his head but his expression is softer now, his eyes sad and I can see images of the Mage flash before my eyes. Because he was only ever the Mage to me. He wasn’t _Davy_ , he wasn’t _anything_ , he was... He was just the Mage. And now he’s nothing at all. I can’t help these images rushing through my head. The memories can sometimes get triggered by the simplest of words and it’s worse now that the thoughts of what happened this time a year ago are already in the back of my mind.

Then I feel Baz’s arms wrap around me from behind for the second time, grounding me again. I concentrate on the feel of his body firmly against my back, the smell of the treats baking and it’s not long before I can think straight, I can think about things that I actually want to think about. 

“Thank you.” I say quietly, looking up at Baz. His fangs are in, leaving the flour to be the only abnormal thing about his face. 

_No_. Abnormal isn’t the right word. Something like _exquisite_ would fit a lot better. 

Baz is rather exquisite.


	4. Prompt 4 - Family

_|Prompt - Spending a day at Baz’s. Snow and Penny are planning on staying the night. There’s hot cocoa and maybe also Aunt Fiona. Snow still holds grudges against her.|_

**Simon**  
‘ _We’ll be there soon to pick you two up _.’__

__I squint at Baz’s text as I lounge around on the sofa. Who the hell is _we_? Is it the royal we? Baz and who, Her bloody Majesty the Queen? I shake my head and watch Penelope dart around and gather her things up. “Penny, we’re stopping there for the night, not for the whole sodding week. Besides, you don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.”_ _

__“Of course I’m staying over, you numpty. Who would want to be alone at this time of year?” Christ, was that her crystal ball going into her backpack?_ _

__“Don’t compare me to those things, Penny. And don’t mention numpties of any kind around Baz. It’s still a touchy subject for him and I’m pretty sure Fiona still doesn’t let him sit in the front of her car.” I snicker, perking up as I hear footsteps outside and then a knock on the door._ _

__

__**Baz**  
Snow is going to kill me._ _

__I _may_ have forgotten to tell him that Aunt Fiona had burdened herself upon me for the afternoon._ _

__I knock on the door and Simon answers almost instantly. He seems to glance around for a moment, as if he’s looking for somebody else, before he pecks my lips softly and lifts up his bag, slinging it casually over one shoulder._ _

__“Come on. Let’s go eat scones and marshmallows and cuddle like the handsome saps we are” He smiles and I don’t have the heart to rain on his parade just yet._ _

__Him, Penelope and I walk down to the car and I tense up and almost begin to cringe as I notice Simon's demeanor change when he sees the other figure in the car. "Baz...?" Simon looks at me and frowns before he opens the back door and arches an eyebrow as he looked in the front. "Oh. Fiona. What a... A surprise." He looks... Disappointed? Annoyed? I can't tell._ _

__"Simon. Baz told me you'd be joining us." She smiles and it looks a little strained. I think they're still both holding grudges and I begin to fear that they'd only get along if they were both absolutely pissed._ _

__Simon gets into the car slowly, followed by Penelope, and I smooth my hair back calmly before getting back into the driver's seat._ _

__"We're gonna have so much fun, Basil. Don't look so worried." Fiona squeezes my pale cheek and I roll my eyes in true sarcastic Pitch-style._ _

__

__**Simon**  
All of a sudden, I was a little less enthusiastic about spending the rest of the day with my boyfriend. I felt awkward with him around his family anyway, especially after last year, but bloody Fiona of all people? I sit almost sulkily in the back of the car and half-listen to Fiona and Baz talking away. Fiona still swears like a Normal._ _

__Penny nudges my arm. “Cheer up, you daft idiot. It can’t be that bad.”_ _

__

__**Fiona**  
The first hour or so we spend at Baz’s is nearly in a dead silence. I can’t tell whether Simon is annoyed because I’m interrupting his precious time with Baz or if he’s just seeing me as a piece of shit that he’s just trodden in. Either way, he’s not looking very peachy-keen at this point._ _

__I decide to break the silence again. “Basil, you haven’t got any fags here, have you? I’m gasping and I’ve left my pack at home.”_ _

__Baz huffs slightly as he gets up, as if everything he has to put effort into is a minor bloody inconvenience for him. He opens up a drawer and pulls out an almost empty pack, handing it to me. “Just take the whole thing.” I can see the disapproving look in Simon’s eyes._ _

__I put on a smile and slip outside, going down to the fire exit and lazily spelling off the alarm as I open it up, lighting up the ciggie and taking a long drag as I lean on the doorframe. I’m having one of those moments of doubting myself again. It happens a lot._ _

__It shouldn’t be me with Baz this Christmas. It should be you, Natasha. What can Baz learn from a poor example of a Pitch and the even worse example of a vampire she used to pine over?_ _

__Honestly, this shitty world rarely makes sense anymore._ _

__

__**Simon**  
The minute Fiona leaves, I stand up and go straight over to Baz. “I can’t bear this. I could slice through this tension with a hot butter knife.” I hiss lightly._ _

__“Snow, she’s my _aunt_. I can’t exactly ignore her. She saved me from those bloody numpties so a few hours of my company every now and then is the least I can do.” He murmured, unable to meet my eyes. “Look. I’ll get the scones and the hot cocoa and you’ll feel better, alright?”_ _

__My stomach growls lowly at the mention of the scones and Baz smirks, finally meeting my stare with a triumphant look spreading across his features. “Hang in there, Snow.”_ _

__I sigh in defeat. “Fine. Feed me, _then_ I’ll consider being more sociable with her.”_ _

__Baz goes to make the drinks almost at the exact point that Fiona appears, ruffling up her messy hair. She looks at me almost suspiciously, before going back to her original seat and managing a slightly friendly smile to Penny._ _

__I need a conversation starter, something, but that’s not exactly my forte.  
_ _

_“So, Snow.” Fiona begins suddenly, looking up at me and doing what I couldn’t do. But we lapse into an awkward silence again as I sit back down and I eventually bring myself to answer._

__“Yes?”_ _

__“Is it because of the time I spelled your feet to the ground?” She cuts straight to the point and I gulp nervously. “You still think I’m the biggest, baddest Pitch bitch.”_ _

__I sigh, and lean forward with my arms resting on my legs. “That’s not _exactly_ how I’d phrase it…”_ _

__“But that’s the general gist.” She smirks a little and shakes her head. “You and I need to reach some kind of truce. More for Baz’s sake. I’m sure he’d love for us all to get along and to be all happy and jolly but if you keep looking at me like I’m about to bite you then that can’t happen.”_ _

__I wasn’t expecting to hear the word truce at all and I know my expression makes me look quite incredulous but I look at her properly. “A truce.”_ _

__“Mm. The past is in the past, Snow. We have to let it go and heal.” For a moment she looks like she really might feel emotions other than amusement and bitterness and I wonder who exactly she’s thinking about. Before I’ve fully registered what I’m doing, I find myself nodding and she smiles a tiny bit more. “Great. Now let’s stuff ourselves full of scones and let bitter bygones be bitter bygones.”_ _

__Baz comes back in with the drinks and I can tell that he’s sensing the change of mood. Maybe I don’t dislike Fiona any less than I did, but I feel as if something is different and I don’t have to feel like she’ll pounce at any second._ _

__Although if I believe everything Baz says, she most likely still will._ _


	5. Prompt 5 - Visiting

_|Prompt - Ebb comes through the Veil and wants to visit Simon. (A/N: this is theoretical since it should technically be nineteen years from the current point until she can visit)|_

 

 **Simon**  
I'm sleeping at mine and Penny's place when it happens. The familiar cold chill down my neck, making my entire body feel like an icy shard, as if I wasn't cold enough already. The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end as I sit up slowly, take a deep breath and turn on my bedside lamp as my eyes search for the figure that I know will be somewhere in the room. I pull my blankets closer to my body as the chilly feeling creeps up underneath my blankets, surrounds me - and I almost flinch right up out of my skin as I see the figure standing right beside my bed.

" _Simon_." Christ, that voice is familiar. Painfully so. 

"Ebb." I say softly, the grip on my blankets slackening as I process the sight in front of me. Pale, ghostly, but looking as if she hadn't even been harmed at all. "Ebb, you're... You..."

" _Simon_." She smiles again, stepping forward, but I'm so on edge, it's all I can do to stop myself shrinking backwards. If I had Baz or even Penny here now, I'd be okay, but I was on my own and to be honest, right now I was feeling more anxious than joyous. " _My grave... You don't visit_."

"I know, I - I'm sorry, Ebb, I - I couldn't cope, and I... I've been juggling a lot of things, and I..." I stutter and I'm convinced I get a little colder.

Her smile softens a whole lot more and she seems to nod in an understanding way. " _Visit... Check on the goats for me_."

"I will, Ebb, I know I will, someday, I- well, I wrote you a Christmas card, which I didn't think I'd ever be able to give to you." I gulp loudly even though I think that deep down, I know I shouldn't be this scared.

Ebb clasps her hands together and she looks like she's glancing around. And fading. I remember, they always fade as quickly as they came. " _Take care, Simon_." She steps closer, her hands lifting up as if she's inviting me into an embrace, and I close my eyes and brace myself but I never feel her arms around me. Instead I open my eyes again and she's gone; the only evidence that she was ever there in the first place are the goosebumps up and down my own arms.

 

 **Penelope**  
I lie awake, staring at my ceiling as I listen to Simon. Is he having a conversation with himself? No, it can't be. I hear the name Ebb and sit up curiously. A Visiting. I knew Simon missed Ebb, especially after the heartfelt card he wrote for her and damn near threw away. So surely he'd be thrilled, but he sure didn't sound like he was.

I wait until there's silence and get up, doing a little dance as my feet touch the cold wooden floor in my room. The hallway is dim, only lit by the light now flooding out from my room, and I knock lightly on Simon's door.

"Simon?" I hiss softly. No answer. "Simon, are you alright?"

The door suddenly swings open and Simon stands in front of me, his blankets around his shoulders and hanging down like a superhero's cape. He looks dazed, tired and frustrated all at once before he stumbles past me and shuffles away, and I only make out one clear thing amongst his unintelligible mumbling.

"I need a coffee."


	6. Prompt 6 - Coat

_|Prompt - (Lowkey in the world of the Normals) Christmas shopping. Simon buys Baz a broody, fashionable new coat. With a nice collar and everything.|_

**Baz**  
"You really are taking me to a Normal shop, aren't you?" I arch an eyebrow at me and look at Snow. Bloody hell, I didn't know Christmas shopping was _this_ enthralling.

"Stop being such a scrooge, Baz. It's called Harrods, surely you've at least heard of it." Simon glances up at me.

"Well, yes, I have-"

"There! So just be quiet if you've got nothing positive to say."

"Oh, you know me. I'm always a ray of sunshine." I smile down at Snow sarcastically, but duck my head as we pass a gaggle of young women. Smiling with my fangs out isn't all that conspicuous, funnily enough. 

Simon links his arm with mine, deciding to walk closer to my side. He seemed to know where he was going and I pretty much just accepted that as soon as we stepped off the tube. (It was a bloody nightmare. I had shoulders, elbows and various other body parts shoved into my face and bouncing off of me. Thank God I'd already eaten this morning. Not that I'd be interested in a screaming child or a sweaty businessman, anyway.)

As we reach the huge shop and step inside, it's like another world entirely. Everything is so fragile and ornate-looking to the point where I felt like if I touched it, it would just crumble beneath my pale fingers. The smells that hit me are nearly overwhelmingly fragrant. I look at Simon almost in disbelief. "Bloody hell, Snow, you've outdone yourself here."

"You think?" He smiles a little, reaching out and squeezing my hand lightly. "Come on. I have a particular section in mind."

 

**Simon**  
I know exactly what I want to get him, what I've saved up for. Baz looks good in coats (Well, he looks good in anything. He'd probably make ice white flares look good) and it was about time he had a new one, in my opinion. Even if everyone else would have to make do with things from the local pound store if I ended up shopping here for him.

As we reach the correct floor, Baz looks around in astonishment and I grab his hand again, pulling him forward. Designer clothes, everywhere. A lot of them exactly to Baz's tastes; I can tell from the starry eyed look he has. 

"Snow, this is bloody brilliant." Baz chuckles, in awe as we walked through short aisles of one off-pieces and sections dedicated entirely to one designer at a time. "Look at the lapels on these jackets."

"They are nice." I nod in agreement and my eyes follow the angular line of his jaw, moving up slowly until my eyes meet his. "Go on, then. Pick something."

His jaw slackens a bit and he tilts his head, like he's curious. "Are you crazy, Snow?"

"Crazy? Maybe." I shrug. "Crazy about _you_? Yes."

Baz chuckles softly again, music to my ears, and he hums to himself as he rifles through the coats on offer. I want him to get something he likes but at the same time, I'm silently hoping it doesn't cost an arm, a leg and a tail. Eventually he pulls one off of the rack and quickly slides it on to try it for size, looking around as if he's scared a security guard will suddenly pounce on him.

It's a black coat, of course, a classy looking double breasted thing that reaches down to about his mid thigh. He turns casually to face a mirror, and his confidence, smirk and slightly upturned collar make me turn a little red and render me unable to look away. 

"What do you think, Snow?" He turns to me and I gulp, running a hand through my hair and managing to smile. 

"It's perfect, Baz."

"Yeah. I like it." He agrees as he slips it off of his torso and gets it back onto the hanger, substituting it out for his own jacket before he looks at the price tag and whistles lowly. "Are you sure about this?"

"It's a present. Don't you worry." I move over to him and relieve his arms of the coat. "Besides, I still have a lot to keep me going. It's the least I can do for you."

"Cheers, love." Baz looks genuinely touched for a moment and he leans down to peck my lips gently. These are the kind of moments I like to hang on to.


	7. Prompt 7 - Jumpers

_|Prompt – Simon and Baz exchange ugly Christmas jumpers and watch bad Christmas movies, trying to get into the Christmas spirit.|_

**Simon**  
I wake up in Baz’s bed, but to my dismay, Baz is nowhere in sight. It’s late morning and I squint in the sunlight streaming into his room. He’d better not have left me locked inside his place, _again_. The duvet falls onto the floor as I stumble to my feet, wearing only a pair of comfortable pyjama bottoms and some barely-fluffy threadbare socks and make my way across the hall to the bathroom. At least that’s what I intend to do.

“Snow!” I hear Baz huff from the living room. I smirk a little lopsidedly to myself. Sounded like he’d found the early present I’d left out for him. “Do I have to wear this?”

“Yes!” I shuffle into the room with him, hands settled in my shallow pockets as I stifle a burst of laughter at Baz’s moody face. He’s wearing the jumper I picked out, one of those novelty ones that has the body of a character on from the neck downwards, and it makes it look like your head is on that body. Baz’s mild scowl and dark hair contrast to the dancing elf’s body, clad in reds and greens and whites over a grey jumper. It’s quite possibly one of the most comical things I’ve seen all year.

“I look terrible, Simon.”

“It’s a good job I don’t mind.” 

Baz shakes his head with another little huff and goes to reach down to a medium sized package beneath his own new tree. (Which he made a show of going and choosing by himself.) “Well, if you don’t mind ugly Christmas jumpers, I think you should have this.”

I accept the package a little suspiciously, tearing into the thin paper and pulling out a red jumper, with something else falling to the floor. The jumper is a bright, almost horrifying red and the front is decorated to look like the traditional Santa outfit, even with details such as printed candy canes tucked into the ‘belt’. Then my eyes scan past the jumper and down to the floor where the Santa hat, in a matching vibrant red, lies at my feet.

“Baz, this is atrocious.”

He smiles proudly. “I know. Put it on and try it for size, then.”

I look down at the jumper again, shaking my head as I yank it gracefully over my head. “I have to wear the hat too, right?”

“Well, I didn’t lavish these gifts upon you for nothing.” Baz bends down and grabs the hat, flinging it up at me. I catch it, wrinkling my nose as the incredible mass of white fluff around the head-hole brushes right across my face.

“I wouldn’t call this jumper _lavish_.” I catch a glimpse of my reflection in the mirror and nearly groan aloud at how ridiculous I look. “What am I supposed to be? Santa Junior?”

“No, love.” Baz chuckled, shuffling past me to the kitchen. “How about left-over scones for brunch?”

“Sounds good. There’s nothing better than a crap jumper, left-over food and appalling Christmas films to get you into the Christmas spirit.”

“Sod off, Snow.” Baz scoffs and brings in a plate with two of my favourite scones and I pick one up quickly. “You’d eat these scones every morning of every day if you could.”

I don’t respond; instead, my mouth is already full from the huge bite I’ve taken. Baz takes one look at me, laughs to himself and switches on the TV to see what’s on.

“Please, for the love of all things good, do not put _It’s A Wonderful Life on_. It’s everywhere.” I say as soon as I’ve finished my mouthful. “How about something a little less ancient? _The Nightmare Before Christmas_? _Love, Actually_?”

“ _Love, Actually_? What are you, a single, middle-aged Normal woman?” Baz rolls his eyes, channel-surfing until he finds something that intrigues him. “ _Frozen_? Huh. Sounds interesting.” He selects it and the room is instantly filled with a loud, upbeat chorus that makes Baz’s eyes widen and I have to hide my laughter, spluttering behind my hand. “Okay. Not _Frozen_ , then.” He carries on and eventually settles for one of the _Narnia_ films. 

I sink down slightly, trying to get comfortable against him, but the hat keeps getting in my way and it’s damn near exasperating. Eventually I pull it off, dropping it onto the floor before snuggling up to Baz and reaching for my scone.

“Snow?”

“Mm?” Once again, I have a mouthful of the delicious food and I don’t want to dribble crumbs all over him.

“We don’t have to wear these bloody jumpers all day, do we?”


	8. Prompt 8 - Nightmare

_|Prompt - Snow has bad dreams about what happened with the Mage and the Humdrum and nearly KO’s Baz with his wings. Cute tail cuddling ensues.|_

 

**Simon**   
_The red ball bounces across my line of vision. I'm in a forest somewhere, glancing around wildly as I hear my own eerie laughter echoing around me. Not unnerving at all. I feel myself start to run, and the forest floor crunches beneath my feet as they carry me further and further into unknown territory._

_"He's right."_

_Now I really am lost. I drop down to sit on the dirty floor, my head spinning and thoughts jumbling around in my head like they're angry bees being rattled in a very, very small and achy container._

_"End everything."_

_I stumble back up to my feet again and run, my hands covering my ears, trying to block out the ghost of the voice of the Insidious Humdrum haunting my head. The forest begins to look familiar and I see a gravestone ahead of me that my feet carry me over to._

_"All of the magic."_

_It's Ebb's gravestone. But there are more gravestones surrounding it. Penelope Bunce. Agatha Wellbelove. Tyrannus Basilton Grimm-Pitch._

_"All of it!"_

 

I wake up with cold hands firmly gripping my arms. I cry out softly in confusion, my breathing quick as I thrash weakly and try to squirm away and my efforts are somewhat successful. The iron grip on my forearms soon goes and I hear a loud thud besides the bed, which makes me jump about six foot in the air and back right up as I try to gather my thoughts in the dimly lit room.

 

**Baz**  
"Simon, it's me..." I rub my head a little gingerly and my other hand holds my side where one of his wings quite harshly jabbed into me whilst I sit up and switch to kneeling so I can look up and see him.

Snow looks like he's in a bit of a state. His eyes are wide and panicky, his knees are tucked up against his chest and he sits on the side of the bed against the wall, his back pressed right against it and his wings slightly curled around him. The doctor warned us this would happen but I didn't quite expect that. Well, I wasn't really sure _what_ I was expecting.

"Baz?" He says quietly before blinking slowly as he tries to focus on me. " _Shit_ , Baz, I didn't mean to-"

"Hey. Shush. It's alright, love." I climb back onto the bed and sit opposite him, quietly spelling his wings invisible for now and slowly laying back down. "Come on. You need rest.”

Simon nods slowly, almost like he's dazed, and he lies on his side facing me. I watch him and a shudder rolls down my spine as I feel his tail curve gently over my middle.

"Do you want to talk about it now?" I murmur softly, my eyes scanning quickly over his face and trying but failing to judge his emotions.

"Not really." His response is short and not very sweet, and before I know it he's moved closer to me and his face is hidden against my neck. I hug him tightly, stroking his back until I'm sure he's asleep.


	9. Prompt 9 - Christmas

_|Prompt - Actual Christmas day. Baz reassures Simon he can relax. Opening of presents, much cuddling and third wheel Penny.|_

**Simon**  
I think we’d all eventually agreed that we wouldn’t make a huge deal out of exchanging presents. It was more about spending time with each other and eating. Plenty of eating, as far as I was concerned. Baz wasn’t supposed to tell me but I knew that Penny and him and collaborated – which surprised me – to make my favourite scones because that’s almost all I’d been eating for the past week. Eating sour cherry scones and wearing my god-awful Christmas jumper. 

Baz lets himself in and I grin up at him as I realise he’s wearing his new coat, but roll my eyes as I see the small bag of presents he has. “You really shouldn’t have…” I roll my eyes, getting up to greet him with a gentle peck on the lips. “Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas, love.” He kisses my temple as he drops his bag beside the tree, puts his coat away and drops down into his usual spot on our sofa. “Where’s Penelope?”

“Out grabbing emergency lemonade.” I take a seat beside him and I have a gut feeling that I know what’s going through his mind.

“So it’s just us for now?” Baz inches closer to me, and I realise how easily I succumb to his charm as he holds my face and leans in.

 

**Penelope**  
Of course the love-birds are snogging when I return from my impromptu trip. It takes a few seconds for Simon to register my presence and the ever-cocky Pitch boy beside him doesn’t really seem to care.

“You don’t have to look at me like I’ve just drained a bird in your living room.” Baz arches an eyebrow as he turns away from Simon to look at me, and I suppress a smirk as Simon smacks his arm with a disapproving look on his face. “Come and sit down and let me lavish gifts upon you both.”

I put the shopping away and eye Baz almost suspiciously as I take my own usual seat. “Go on, Baz. Enlighten us.” Honestly, you’d think the amount of time I spend with him, I would have warmed to him more. I only tolerated him more often at first for Snow.

Baz retrieves his bag of hastily wrapped presents (Honestly, I can tell) and hands one to me, and two to Snow. I open mine first and I have to say, I’m impressed. It’s a magickal history book and it’s one that I’d need for my studies. 

“Thank you, Baz.” I say honestly, offering him a smile. Okay, maybe he’s not as atrocious as he used to be.

 

**Simon**  
I watch Penny’s reaction and smile to myself before looking down at my own two gifts. “It better not be anything crude.” I narrow my eyes at him and he just shrugs, motioning for me to go ahead. I carefully tear open the first gift to find a new scarf. He knew how I was used to wearing one after being a once proud owner of a Watford scarf. The second one has me stumped until I open it and tilt my head curiously. “A photo album. With no photos.”

“That’s because it’s for us to fill up, you daft sod. Starting from now.” He digs into his pocket for his phone, taking a few moments to figure out which way to flip the lockscreen to access the camera before passing the phone to Penny. He wraps his arm around my shoulders and I lean into his side, forgetting for a moment that there’s a camera in front of us, and I nuzzle my face against him as I hear the sound of the photo being taken. 

Baz did always say he liked candid photographs of me.

(I didn’t know whether to take that as a compliment or to find it completely unnerving.)

 

**Baz**  
As the afternoon goes on, I notice Snow getting more and more tired and that means his thoughts are more than likely getting less rational. So he’ll panic, he won’t stop thinking about the bloody Humdrum and The Mage, and he’ll work himself up so badly that I know he won’t be able to sleep tonight.

I keep an eye on him as the three of us make conversation and as soon as Penny excuses herself to go to the bathroom, I look down at him. 

“Snow. You like you’ve just seen a ghost.”

“Actually, that was a couple of nights ago.” He mumbles, rubbing his eyes. “I might call it a night. I’m absolutely knackered.”

“Simon, it’s 8pm.”

“And I’m tired, Baz. Let me sleep. Please.” He combs his hand through his curls as he sits up properly and for a moment he’s convinced me that that’s why he wants to make a quick getaway. 

“Fine. But you’ll miss all the best Christmas Films. Love, Actually is on in an hour…”

He shakes his head with a small smile. “Goodnight, Baz.” He kisses me briefly before getting up and disappearing into his room.

 

**Simon**  
It takes a whole hour for Baz to come after me, knocking gently on my door. “Come in.” I mumble from where my head is buried beneath my pillow. I turn and switch on my lamp. He’s standing there in my doorway, the top buttons on his shirt undone, his sleeves rolled up and the bottom of his shirt untucked in the most unruly look I’ve seen on him in a long while.

“You alright, Simon?” I can practically see his pale skin glowing in the dim light.

“What does it look like?” I can’t hide the miserable tone in my voice, no matter how hard I try. I kick down my blankets and stand up, stretching out my legs. “I can’t sleep and I can’t bloody enjoy Christmas. What am I supposed to do, Baz?” 

“Hang out with me and drink crappy eggnog and watch your favourite Christmas comedies.”

I roll my eyes, walking over to him and just leaning against him, my head tucked up underneath his chin and my eyes closed. One of his hands reaches up and he strokes the back of my head affectionately, and we lapse into a comfortable silence before I look up at him again, deciding to grab a hold of his shirt and pull him down to my level to kiss him whilst also taking a step or two backwards.

“You can’t snog away your woes, Simon Snow…” Baz mumbles, breaking away after a few moments and smoothing my bed hair back. 

“Watch me try.” I let him pull me in for another hug, and the slight pressure he’s putting on my back seems to calm me a little.

“Come and have some eggnog.” He insists.

I grunt in exasperation but look up at him with a small smile all the same.

“I love you, Baz, you persistent shit.”


End file.
